Electronic accordion with hinged keyboard and contact plate



1968 P. $.-SOPRANI 3,419,668

ELECTRONIC ACCORDION WITH HINGED KEYBOARD AND CONTACT PLATE Filed Aug. 16, 1965 Sheet of s Jill INVENTOR P ML 0557/7/71 SOPHIA/l ATTORNEYS Dev" 31. 1968 P. s. SOPRAN. 3,41 668 ELECTRONIC ACCORDION WITH HINGED KEYBOARD AND CONTACT PLATE Filed Aug. 16, 1965- Sheet 2 of s BY flaw U/MZL- ATTORNEYS 1968 P. s. SOPRANI 3,

ELECTRONIC ACCORDI ON WITH HINGED KEYBOARD AND CONTACT PLATE Filed $11 ,163 1965 I Sheet J of 3 PA 01. 0 .5 Err/mo SOP/M A/ BY Q WJ/ZZ/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,419,668 ELECTRONIC ACCORDION WITH HINGED KEYBOARD AND CONTACT PLATE Paolo Settimio Soprani, via Bainsizza 2, Ancona, Italy Filed Aug. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 479,822 Claims priority, application Italy, Mar. 17, 1965, 2,458/ 65 1 Claim. (Cl. 84-117) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electronic accordion incorporating inside thereof the circuitry for generating electric signals with frequencies corresponding to those requested by the singing keyboard and by the bass keyboard, the accordion being constructed to permit the player to use the 'same technique that is ordinarily used in playing conventional accordions, but with the possibility of using external amplifiers for signals generated inside the accordion itself. In the specific embodiment shown and described, there are also provided winding cores for the main frequency generators, a hingedly mounted register plate for convenient access to the circuitry, a hingedly mounted singing contact plate for convenient access to the generator connections, and a spring-retracted metal band for closing the bellows.

An object of this invention is to obtain convenient access from the outside of an accordion to the adjusting points of the various notes by operating on the winding cores of the main frequency generators without having to disassemble any part of the accordion. This is accomplished by providing a hingedly mounted register plate for convenient access to the circuitry beneath the plate, and also a hingedly mounted singing contact plate to provide access to the generator connections without detaching the contact connection rods from the hooks connected to the keys, the contact plate rotation being effected without changing the location of the above-mentioned connection rods during the rotation.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the accordion;

FIGURE 2 is an internal perspective view;

FIGURE 3 represents the hingedly mounted plate; and

FIGURES 4 and 5 are perspective views of the bellows and their closure device.

The accordion of the present invention (FIG. 1) comprises three basic parts: the singing section A with the singable keyboard 1 and registers 2 for the various effects obtainable from such a board, the bellows section B and the bass section C with bass and chord buttons 3 arranged according to the conventiona scheme and registers 4 for the desired accompaniment effects.

Internally the singing section A (FIG, 2) has printed circuit plates 5 pertinent to the various note generators, it being possible to tune from the outside at point 6 the various notes by operating on the winding cores of the frequency generators indicated at 7 in FIGURE 2 without any part having to be disassembled.

In the same singing section A, accessibility to filter plates is obtained by overturning the register plate 8 as in FIGURE 2 by merely unscrewing a knob.

3,419,668 Patented Dec. 31, 1968 "ice In singing section A the entire contact plate 9 which is operated by keys 1 (FIG. 3) is upsettable by unscrewing knobs so that after the contact plate is swung up about the axis of fulcrum 12', all wiring of the contact connections to the frequency generators will be accessible without the necessity of disassembling connecting rods 10 guiding contact springs 11 and without changing the resting positions of such springs.

In section A the plate assembly for generators 5 (FIG. 2) is mounted in a frame 12, the plates being locked in position by two tension rods 13 but can be taken out for repair by loosening the clamping nuts 14.

The bellows section B is equipped with a special locking system shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and comprising the hooking cap 15, the metal hooking band 1 6, the helical spring 17 for retracting the metal band when the accordion is opened, and at 18 the hooking button for the cap 15 when the accordion is closed.

On the side of the bellows which can be opened and closed, the device of application Ser. No. 451,191 for musical expression is mounted, while the bass section C contains the mechanism for manipulating the electric signals as described in application Ser. No. 451,153.

The outer structural parts of the accordion are all of pressed plastic and are assembled after all the internal parts have been mounted and tested.

The external components of the singing section A (FIG. 1) comprise the right side 19, the center ledge 20, the left side 21 and the open work or decorative panel 22, all of which are made of plastic material.

Bellows section B is provided on its outside with a conventional bellows which can be made entirely of injection molded plastic material.

In the bass section the parts that can be made of plastic material (FIG. 1) are the right side 23, the decorative right plate 24, the ledges adjacent registers 25, the left side 26 and the decorative left plate 27 While other exposed parts can be made of plastic-coated metal.

The accordion comprises also the structure 12 in FIG. 2 for fastening the plates carrying the printed circuits corresponding to the various notes, two tension rods 13 being sufiicient for locking the structure. To take out any one of the plates for repair service, it will only be necessary to loosen the two clamping nuts 14.

Closure of the accordion bellows (FIGS. 4-5) is effected by the metal band 16 connected to a retracting helical spring 17 which will prevent the metal band from hanging loose outside the accordion while the latter is in use.

I claim:

1. In an electronic accordion having a keyboard and a bellows, a singing section provided with a singable keyboard having in the inside a series of parallel plates carrying the printed circuits of the frequency generators, the windings of said frequency generators having cores that are accessible from outside, an upsettable register plate mounted on oscillation pins, a contact plate mounted on oscillation pins located on a laterally projecting staff so as to avoid any disassembly of mounted parts on the contact plate itself, a plurality of secondary plates carry ing the frequency generators, a frame for said secondary plates, tension rods having threaded ends and clamping nuts for assembling said secondary plates, a bellows, a

hooking cap, a metal band for keeping the accordion closed, a helical spring for retracting said band when the accordion is opened, a button to which the cap of the metal band is attached when the accordion is closed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,983,178 5/1961 Searles et a1. 84-1.04 X

4 FOREIGN PATENTS 761,127 11/1956 Great Britain.

ARTHUR GAUSS, Primary Examiner.

D. D. FORRER, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 841.01, 1.04 

